Why FirstEnergy (FE) Stock Is Jumping Today

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) are higher by 3.52% to $31.78 in afternoon trading on Tuesday, after the company reported earnings of $64 million, or 16 cents per share for the 2014 second quarter, compared to a loss of -$164 million, or -39 cents per share for the year ago quarter.

The diversified energy company attributed its growth in earnings to strong performances from its distribution and transmission businesses.

FirstEnergy said revenue for the most recent quarter remained the same year over year, at $3.5 billion.

FirstEnergy reaffirmed its full year 2014 guidance for earnings in the range of $2.40 to $2.60 per share.

Analysts expect earnings of $2.47 per share for the year.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates FIRSTENERGY CORP as a Hold with a ratings score of C. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate FIRSTENERGY CORP (FE) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth and increase in net income. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including generally higher debt management risk, disappointing return on equity and poor profit margins."